SoundMatrix ($2.99, iTunes link) is an addictive synth music app based on the popular ToneMatrix Flash application. SoundMatrix puts a grid of gray squares on your phone 16 wide by 18 tall. Each column represents a beat, and each row a note (with the bottom two percussion). As you use your finger to mark the squares, it sets up a musical sequence. It’s a bit hard to explain, but if you play with the free Flash version, you’ll get a feel for it quickly.

As simple as this little sequencer is, it’s utterly addictive, and I’ve lost hours of productive time to ToneMatrix. Bringing it to the iPhone makes it the ultimate time killer. If you’re stuck waiting, regardless of how long, there’s enough entertainment here to keep you going. If you happen on a sound pattern you’re really happy with, you can email it to yourself and save it for posterity.

There are also a ton of options, for changing tempo, pitch, and other settings. The slew of different synth sounds are for when you’re bored of the standards, but they’re not particularly special and sound like something from the cheap Casio synthesiser your parents bought you when you were 8.

What we didn’t like was the small note buttons, which were often hard to hit, and the price. This is a free application online, and if Flash worked on the iPhone, you’d be able to play it there. Paying $3 for a native version seems quite steep, though maybe with the advent of Flash Authoring, which allows easy conversion of Flash apps to iPhone apps, a free version will make its way out soon.

Conclusion

Overall, we can recommend SoundMatrix as an entertaining musical time waster or for general musical inspiration, though it’s a touch more expensive than we would like.

SoundMatrix is a $2.99 download from the iTunes App Store.